-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The Bank of England knowingly helped to sell looted Nazi gold from occupied Czechoslovakia months before the outbreak of World War II , according to experts .

On Tuesday the Bank of England 's archives -- published digitally for the first time -- reveal that # 5.6 million of gold was transferred just days after the Nazi siege of Czechslovakia in 1939 , which was one of the catalysts that sparked the war .

While the transfers themselves were known at the time , the archives unmask private letters and telephone conversations where the Bank of England avoided questions over its Czech gold holdings from the Treasury .

The bank sanctioned the transfer of gold -- worth an estimated # 736.4 million -LRB- $ 1.1 billion -RRB- today , according to the Financial Times -- between two accounts held by the National Bank of Czechoslovakia and the German central bank , known then as the Reichsbank .

Albrecht Ritschl , professor of economic history at the London School of Economics , told CNN that the Bank of England `` in cold blood , and pretending not to know what these accounts were and where the gold was coming from , agreed to the transfer . ''

Ritschl said : `` From the Czech point of view this was very clearly a breach of trust . ''

The Bank of England declined to comment when contacted by CNN .

The archived document claims bank officials suspected but were `` not sure '' the accounts were Czech and German . However , they believed it was `` no business of theirs , '' as both accounts were held by the Bank of International Settlements -LRB- BIS -RRB- -- a central bankers ' bank .

But David Blaazer , a historian at the University of New South Wales and author of a study on the Bank of England and Czech gold , told CNN : `` There is absolutely no doubt that the Bank knew which numbered BIS account belonged to which central bank . ''

Despite an attempt by the British government to block all Czech assets in the UK , the transfer went ahead and the story caused an outpouring of public anger .

Banker for Germany

With the UK heavily exposed to the German debt crisis in 1931 , such transfers were part of an `` economic appeasement '' plan of Nazi Germany by Britain , according to Ritschl .

British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was keen to avoid conflict with Adolf Hitler 's Germany after the human cost and economic devastation caused by the First World War .

This culminated in Britain , France , Germany and Italy signing the ` Munich Pact , ' leading to the annexation of Czechoslovakia and the country 's eventual invasion .

Ritschl said : `` This policy started in 1933 when Hjalmar Schacht was reinstalled by Hitler as president of the Reichsbank .

`` This was beneficial in the short term for Britain , as Nazi Germany unblocked British assets frozen in Germany , '' Ritschl told CNN . `` Britain then resumed its traditional role as a banker and insurer for Germany 's foreign trade . As the episode shows , the Nazis had a reliable partner , '' he said .

After the gold transfer , the assets were `` disposed '' of with around # 4 million going to the central banks of Belgium and Holland and the remainder sold in London , according to the official report .

Ritschl said the personal friendship between Reichsbank President Hjalmar Schacht and then-Bank of England Governor Montagu Norman may have had a bearing on the bank 's actions at the time .

Government intervention

In May 1939 , then British Chancellor of the Exchequer John Simon wrote to Norman to ask whether the bank was still holding Czech gold .

In his reply , Norman did not answer the question but pointed out `` that the bank held gold from time to time for the BIS and had no knowledge of whether it was their own property or that of their customers . ''

According to Blaazer , the Bank of England could not refuse to follow the order of a customer -LRB- the BIS -RRB- to transfer gold between its own accounts .

He said : `` The bank claimed , and the government accepted , that this particular transaction fell beyond the governments and the banks power . ''

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Bank of England archives reveal # 5.6 million of gold was transferred days after Nazi siege of Czechslovakia in 1939

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The bank sanctioned the transfer of gold , which is worth an estimated # 736.4 million -LRB- $ 1.1 billion -RRB- today

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Despite an attempt by the British government to block all Czech assets in the UK , the transfer went ahead